You are right this is sloppy and should be stamped out!

This sort of formal duplication of terms is quite common (and not just in English), especially in relatively informal contexts, and many people find it perfectly acceptable. However, the redundancy could be eliminated by using 'ICT' by itself (eliminate 'technologies'), rewording to separate 'technologies' from 'ICT, úsing 'informatics' instead of 'ICT', or replacing 'technologies' with a term such as methods, techniques, systems, approaches, solutions, etc.

Whatever you do, don't use 'IC technologies', since it has a completely different meaning.

In any publication that my company handles, the process for this sort of thing is:

1. First use in the article, spell it out and then put the abbreviation in parentheses.
2. From then on, use the abbreviation.

From your use, you are objecting to the use of double "technologies." As an American, this does not disturb me, but then again, I am not a purist when it comes to language, only getting the thought across is imperative, and this does get the thought across.

Personally, I would NOT have left the term "ICT technologies" but would have spelled it out the first time and then used "ICT" throughout the rest of the text.

Nobody says "IC circuits" but rather "ICs" now. That would be my guideline.

My thought from the USA.

Technically, you are right; however, as profession, this is what is used. Descriptive usage prevails in this case. Possibly most IT individuals are ruminating about other matters, and not the redundancy that interests us.

Mike :)

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Note added at 13 mins (2007-08-28 10:44:45 GMT)
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On the other hand, languages are inherently accurate. Look at the use of the plural marker in English.

Three chairs are in the room.

We already know that "chairs" is plural since it is preceded by "three". So, why change the verb to plural? Why add an "s" to "chair"?

Languages are inherently redundant to facilitate communication.

Please do not get me wrong. I am not advocating unnecessary redundancy. On the other hand, a phrase that is so entrenched in the professional argot such s the one you mentioned, cannot simply be changed because those of us that are more linguistically sensitive so desire to change it.

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Note added at 29 mins (2007-08-28 11:00:22 GMT)
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Excuse me - I meant to say, languages are inherently redundant.

I don't believe we can police the inevitable. Language is dynamic. Hence, when an entire group of professionals use certain lexical features in certain ways, it is like a tsunami - it grows into its own force and nothing will stop it.

In the example of redundancy I gave earlier, although logical, most of us would not insist on saying: "Three chair be in the room." And this is in spite of the fact that the standard sentence that is used is highly redundant.

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Note added at 11 hrs (2007-08-28 21:49:47 GMT)
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Formal Usage:

Cambridge University

he aim of this workshop was to train practice-based researchers in the performing arts to make better use of ICT technologies that support live collaboration in performance situations. The workshop leaders were Julio D'Escrivan and Richard Hoadley of Anglia Ruskin University; Ian Cross of the Cambridge University Centre for Music and Science; and Alan Blackwell of the Crucible network for Research in Interdisciplinary Design.

The workshop was based in the recently-upgraded music technology teaching facility at Anglia Ruskin University, which contained two group studios each equipped with nine G5 dual-processor Macintoshes. Collaborative facilities included networked sound processing with studio monitors, local MIDI keyboards and audio processors on each workstation, shared headphones for pair work, and central video projection facilities.

The workshop was structured to include a range of participants including technical specialists in the use of SuperCollider and Max/MSP, professional exponents of mixed genre performance and a small selection of practitioners from other performance genres such as poetry, live video art and others. Participants were provided at the start of the day with a broad range of inexpensive sensors, and a short hands-on introduction to the process of interfacing these to performance software such as SuperCollider. The workshop was then be divided into mixed discipline teams for hands-on development and instruction, ensuring that programmers did not ‘race ahead’ of performing collaborators. In the course of the day, the whole group shared experiences during unstructured breaks, with a structured sharing of experiences in the final session. Throughout the day, work in progress was captured and shared by facilitators moving from team to team. The overall ambition was to emulate a ‘collaboration masterclass’ as the most appropriate model for practice-based research workshops applying technology in the performing arts.

OXFORD UNIVERSITY


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